Gun Rights And Mental Health Restrictions: A Slippery Slope

In the wake of the Parkland shooting, as in the wake of any mass shooting, there has been a scramble by various political groups to place blame for the violence. Everyone is looking for the source of the evil that causes these events, to little avail. In most cases, at least when it comes to the extreme Left, the blame is placed squarely on guns themselves. This is obviously an absurd notion. Placing blame on the particular tool used in the crime does not solve the problem of the criminal and what led him to the deed. Whether or not the tool made his crime “easier” is irrelevant to the greater disturbance at hand.

After years of debate and failed legislation, leftists have discovered that resistance to the incremental destruction of the 2nd Amendment is insurmountable, and a change in narrative has occurred. Finally, we are talking more about mental health issues and a little less about guns. This is a win for gun rights, however, there is a danger that needs to be addressed.

First, while mental health is being presented in the mainstream media more and more as a central issue in mass shootings, I find it interesting that the problem of psychotropic pharmaceuticals has been conveniently ignored. In a large number of non-terrorist related shooting incidents, assailants have been subjected to long term psychotropic drug use. Why has this factor not been addressed?

Well, consider the fact that Big Pharma has spent at least $2.5 billion over the past ten years lobbying in Washington D.C. Compare this to the NRA lobbying budget, which in comparison was a paltry $20 million over the past 10 years according to OpenSecret.

This should put into perspective the idiocy of anti-gun advocates and their obsession with the “nefarious” NRA. The influence of the pharmaceutical industry is almost universally ignored when it comes to the debate on gun violence, yet their lobbying efforts dwarf all others. All this despite the fact that psychotropic drugs are proven to influence violent and even homicidal behavior in people.

Second, the focus on mental health in terms of the Parkland shooting seems to be glossing over the vast failings of the FBI and local law enforcement in following up and investigating the dozens of warnings they received about Nikolas Cruz. As I outlined in my recent article ‘“Mass shootings will never negate the need for gun rights,” gun grabbers love to trot out legislation on increased background check restrictions and closing the “gun show loophole,” yet none of their suggested solutions would have stopped the Parkland tragedy from taking place.

The success of Nikolas Cruz’s attack was due to the abject failure of the FBI and law enforcement, NOT the failure of background checks. Had they done their jobs, Cruz never would have been able to purchase a firearm to begin with. I find it rather ironic that gun grabbers constantly argue that average citizens do not need guns for self defense because they have law enforcement to rely on, yet it was exactly the stupidity or inaction of law enforcement that opened the door wide for Cruz to (allegedly) kill.

Clearly, the so-called “authorities” are not trustworthy enough to carry out the job of protecting us all from active shooters. The only people capable of stopping an active shooter in a fast and practical manner are armed citizens on the scene at the moment the attack begins.

Third, and most important, is the issue of mental health parameters and how they will be used to restrict gun rights. The ATF already has rules regarding people “adjudicated as mentally defective,” which includes people ruled a danger to themselves and others by a “court, board or commission or other lawful authority.” Now, these guidelines themselves can be rather broad, but abuse by government so far has been limited (though some instances have been egregious). If the Trump administration seeks to broaden the guidelines even further, then we may have a problem.

Take for example the unacceptable abuse of military veterans and their 2nd Amendment rights by the Bureau of Veterans Affairs. The VA has in recent years placed restrictions on thousands of veterans, negating their gun rights without due process and without oversight. And all of this has been predicated on the claim that some veterans are “mentally defective” based on dubious parameters, including whether or not they let their spouse handle household finances.

This is what I am talking about when I bring up the dangers behind “mental illness” and gun rights. WHO gets to decide who is mentally ill and why they are mentally ill? Will this be done by a jury of our peers? Or, by an unaccountable and faceless bureaucracy? Will the guidelines for mental illness be strict and specific, or will they be broad and wide open to interpretation? Once a person has been labeled mentally defective, will they have the ability to appeal the decision, or will the label haunt them for the rest of their lives?

Gun rights activists should not put blind faith in the Trump administration to ensure that new mental health legislation will remain fair to the 2nd Amendment. Unfortunately, Trump is on record as supporting the “No Fly List” gun control bill. This type of bill is something liberty activists opposed vehemently under the Obama administration because it allows the government to erase the gun rights of almost anyone without due process merely by placing them on an arbitrary watch list. A list, I will remind readers, that is a matter of national security and not subject to public overview.

Would a list of “mentally defective people” fall under the same Orwellian standards?

What about the new and disturbing designation by the psychiatric community of oppositional defiance disorder? This absurd “illness” is being applied to people as young as pre-school age and suggests that adults with the illness often display resistance to authority figures and government.

What if your opposition is not to “authority” in general, but to CORRUPT authority specifically? Is this mental illness, or the very epitome of sanity?

In the Soviet Union, it was all too common for the government to abuse “mental illness” designations as a means to silence and imprison political dissent. Anti-government agitation and propaganda were criminalized under Soviet legal codes, and these codes were frequently applied in conjunction with the psychiatric system. This was sometimes referred to as “punitive medicine.”

The problem with government and psychiatric institutions joining forces to determine constitutional rights for individuals should be obvious. Government should be as separate from the medical establishment as possible yet they are often intertwined to terrible effect. If mental illness is not adjudicated by a jury of ones peers and with extreme oversight by gun rights groups, then abuse of such laws by government is almost guaranteed. The temptation to use backdoor bureaucracy in a totalitarian manner to underhandedly confiscate guns and sabotage the 2nd Amendment will be high.

It is also important to remember that even if you have placed full and blind faith in the Trump administration, there are no guarantees that the constitutional rules we allow him to bend today will not be completely broken by the next president in line. Gun rights are paramount to a free society. Without them, governments almost always revert to increased socialism and “tyranny creep” while violent crime continues or increases as the citizenry is left defenseless. Mental illness ANDpsychotropic drugs need to be taken seriously in terms of gun violence, but it is also vital that we do not allow the issue of mental health to be exploited as a subversive means to undermine our freedoms.

***

If you would like to support the publishing of articles like the one you have just read, visit our donations page here. We greatly appreciate your patronage.

With global tensions spiking, thousands of Americans are moving their IRA or 401(k) into an IRA backed by physical gold. Now, thanks to a little-known IRS Tax Law, you can too. Learn how with a free info kit on gold from Birch Gold Group. It reveals how physical precious metals can protect your savings, and how to open a Gold IRA. Click here to get your free Info Kit on Gold.

Click here to subscribe: Join over one million monthly readers and receive breaking news, strategies, ideas and commentary.

Copyright Information: This content has been contributed to SHTFplan by a third-party or has been republished with permission from the author. Please contact the author directly for republishing information.

These fuckers are gonna do what they’re gonna do on infringing the 2nd. Come try to disarm us and we’ll make a bloodbath of the libs, the repubs, and everyone else responsible. The whole fucking country will be blood ass red. So be it.

Paranoid, They should be required to take a non-invasive fMRI scan which determines psychopathy and sociopathy.

Then a 30-minute oral exam and a one-hour written exam as well confirms the fMRI. It’s not rocket science but they make it out to be. They don’t want to make this requirement as part of the gun ownership background process, or for government and Law Enforcement positions either, for that matter.

That’s why we have corruption in the White House and at all levels of government and in LE too, and its also why psychos can own guns.

“Stronger background checks” is meaningless bs. There are only State and Local backgrounds, there’s no such thing as a “stronger background check”, which is not possible. They’re full of s* * t and using that lip service to pacify us.

If candidates running for the Presidency and other White House positions were required to take a fMRI scan and the oral and written exam all completed before they could run a campaign and were given their government position and before occupying the Oval Office we wouldn’t be in this spiraling downward mess.

One reason they don’t want to implement this standard program and never will is because they don’t want their disorder to be exposed. I am sure you can think of all the other reasons.

Menzo, The fMRI and oral/written exams all combined determine that as well. If the fMRI scan and two accompanying tests indicates either of these disorders I mentioned in my last post, then they definitely do not have a conscience, or a moral compass either, even if they look normal and speak normal, and can hold down a job.

If there is no indication of psychopathy/sociopathy on the fMRI scan /exams then the person most likely does possess a moral code and has a conscience. It’s that simple.

But TPTB are claiming these tests are either inconclusive or inaccurate and have posted this on websites (under the names of fake psychiatrists) claiming such, when that’s not true. The tests, at least when administered by a properly trained, qualified professional who is normal-brained and with a conscience/morals, the results are accurate.

We will never see this effective tool being used in our lifetime because they certainly don’t want their mental disorders exposed, and for other reasons too.

No conscience = no moral compass, and this is a very serious and incurable disorder that often goes unrecognized or is dismissed. It’s not simply a case of “normal acting crazy once in awhile.”

BTW, those ushering in the NWO and everything attached to it, have no conscience or morals. For one example, Hillary would never have passed an fMRI scan and accompanying tests.

An Armed society is a polite society. Carry on Folks and carry daily. Its your right. Ignore the BS Distractions.

If they ever try to come for our guns, tell them to bring their own body bags. Because there will be lots of body parts laying around, to be sent home to their families. They can sort the parts out later. I have some 12 G ammo that would put a bowling ball size hole through a groin area cavity.
Game over,.//Tilt//Timmmmberrr..!!

My area only has about 1 LEO per 1000 people at the most, and most all of us are well armed. Do the math, It ain’t gonna be pretty for them. And they got to eat and sleep sometime. Ever try to take a shot gun away from a red neck? Or a Biker Gang? Ya can die trying.

Menzo, the libturds and company have no idea of the cesspool they’re stepping into. If they’re really looking for trouble, they will find it. Bank on it. What’s been called “mental health” is totally bogus. I don’t care what someone calls me. I’m not giving up anything based upon anything anyone else says. I’m almost at the point I don’t care anymore. Libturds think their shit don’t stink? They’ll find out the truth the hard way if they keep f#$%ing around.

TDBh, this article makes me want to go an hug my AR and AK. Guess I need help. My point? If someone like a veteran can be adjudicated to be mentally ill due to some liberal retard shrink working in concert with the government…. the same government that asked the man (or woman) to act in and live in insane conditions….. we’re screwed. So, just so’s those sheepskinned eggheads and my local representatives know – I admit it, I like the little tinkling sound my rounds make when I turn an ammo can upside down. Always reminds me of Mom, home and apple-pie. I’m waiting for the men in white coats now. And if I see a blue helmet on one – I’m shooting.

Gun confiscation will look like the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” combined with the psychological thrillers of Alfred Hitchcock, led by modern shadow banners and practitioners of gas-lighting. Nurse Ratched will be played by the entire U.S. Government.

The problem with connecting the no fly,no buy gun list is that it both is run by the government. Who is on this list? No one knows until you try to board. How do you get on this list,no one knows. How do you get off the list,no one knows. No,no,no. We cannot allow this to happen.

Ha!
Yup, he was not the best, he wasnt even a good choice,
He was definitely the biggest douchebag in the pool though and the biggest middle finger to the democrats,,,,
I didnt even bother, just a waste of gas to go to the polls

Genius, Ok you’ve made your point in your own special way. I’ve already awakened from the Trump spell and swallowed the bitter pill. He’s just as dangerous as the libturds and fascists who are out to get us. I’m not giving up shit. Libturds and neocons bleed red just like anyone else.

Brave,
The interesting thing, at least to me, is that so many people thought he was going to fix things,,,
If this was a reality show with a script? Maybe. But its a circus, total and complete clown car circus

“D” . . . the gun control freaks? They are not either the Democrats or the Republicans. It’s all of them. The control freaks are not either the ‘Libturds’ or the Conservatives. It’s all of them.

Remember the saying: “As California goes, so goes the rest of the country.” ????

There are no gun control freaks. There are gun confiscation freaks. Look at Dick’s Sporting Goods move today to remove not just the AR-15, but all “assault style weapons.” This includes all semi-automatic weapons — the ones that have been legally available to Americans since 1937. What’s that leave? Flintlocks? [some sarcasm]. But it’s the truth.

You believe in god? Application denied!
You want a gun? Application denied!
Your a vet? Application denied!
You mouthed off in a chatroom? Application denied!
You have used racial slurs? Application denied!
Your a conservative? Application denied!
You believe in rights/ constitution? Application denied!

Not a big step but a step. Anyone that gets email ads from Wal-Mart, should unsubscribe NOW, maybe it would send a message. I just unsubscribed. I really can’t believe any gun owner would shop at Dick’s Sporting Goods, they have played this game in the Past. Trekker Out

You’re all going to give up your guns. You know you can’t resist. It hurts. Regular traffic stop. They grab you. Send the team to get the stuff at your known places of residence. And the bol, too. It’s over before you knew what happened. And you get to go to the government affirmative action shrink for a “check up”.

you are right, there is not much you can do about it. I am amused by these clowns saying “from my cold dead hands”. They will give up their guns and i can’t blame them. You can’t fight the government. There is no chance.

No excuses and no kudos for Trump from me. he is a closet liberal gun grabber and all you have to do is study his record. No one did and now we’re stuck with him. He will NOT protect your firearms and you can be turned in for “mental problems” by anyone. Did you piss off your neighbor? Look out here comes the funny farm wagon.

Some posters here who were not regulars did investigate Trump during the campaigning and pre-election. Also plenty of former posters who are no longer here warned us of Trump because they grew up in Trump country, so to speak, and saw his years of lies and b***s** so they already knew EVERYTHING. They were run off this site. None of them are still here.

I went back to threads from Sept 2016 to late Nov 2016 and read their comments and a lot of it actually is coming true, most everything these two posters said. Now I can understand why they were calling him a conman begging us not to vote for Trump (or Hillary) and why they left SHTF.

They weren’t Pro-Hillary Dems either. They just knew Trump was deceitful and wasn’t a man of his word because they saw him in action in the 80’s and 90’s and on. None of this is surprising them now, they already knew.

Many times I have told you that there was not isn’t now and never will be any viable political or ballot box solution. and that its a dog and pony show. We had a choice between a pile of poop and a stack of turds. If voting really mattered they would not let you do it. Now if you are recieveing a social security mental disability check you shouldn’t be allowed to vote or possess a gun

Unfortunately it’s a difference without much of a distinction. Political power is seductive and many a good man has succumbed to its cruel embrace. I certainly hope that Trump is simply patting the shitlibs on their pointy, empty little heads so they’ll quiet down, but we shall see.

There is a big “distinction” between a civilian and a professional politician. The first being that the main reason the entrenched establishment claim Trump is unfit for office is that government is too complicated for anybody to run except professionals politicians. Trump is a bumpkin.

Professional politicians don’t believe in “government of the people, by the people and for the people.” Professional politicians don’t believe in democracy or a republic — maybe an oligarchy. The people are bumpkins.

And what’s this stuff? “Political power is seductive and many a good man has succumbed to its cruel embrace.” How trite can you get? OH, CRUEL, CRUEL WORLD!!!! (Said while beating ones chest). Can you possibly leave the drama where it belongs — on granny’s favorite soap opera?

“Take the guns now, worry about due process later”, is that the actual quote. If so, Trump needs to review the Constitution. This attitude is a sure road to universal hatred. The Demonrats will never respect him. The patriots that voted for and currently respect him will leave in droves. The Bill of Rights is not negotiable. Due process is required for a functional judicial system. Come-on man, don’t go batshit crazy on us.

and you all thought your gun rights were safe since Hildebeast lost? Ha ha, get ready for Bipartisan gun control.
I knew Trump will screw the gun rights people. You all will be on a “no fly list” or a “terror list” and then you lose your gun rights.

“yet none of their suggested solutions would have stopped the Parkland tragedy from taking place”. Exactly. Oddly there seems to be a disconnect between addressing the actual problem vs taking guns from the working class. Taking guns makes it look like our politicians are doing something. Taking action. Really all they are doing is protecting the pharma companies revenue and protecting from lawsuits. IMHO
Found this on SGT. Pretty much backs up this article
ht tps://www.sgtreport.com/articles/2018/2/28/world-famous-psychiatrist-says-more-psychiatric-drug-treatment-means-more-mass-shootings-will-happen

The author hits the nail on the head on the “mental defect” issue. What are the standards and when will these be politicized? Scary stuff.

I drive a truck so I see into people’s cars easily and nothing surprises me but today I seen a young guy rolling a joint wearing military bdu’s with subdued rank patches on the arm. Has the military scraped the bottom or what. Legalizing dope has really benefitted society according to the state. Don’t troops get drug tested wtf. Military must be hard up.

Dick’s Sporting Goods just won the hearts and minds of the gun haters.
So did Walmart when they did the same thing. See how they cave?
They know the rednecks will still spend paychecks with them.
PVC, cosmoline, shovels and walks out in the back forty.
Thats what its coming down to my peoples.
Keep a few handy for unwelcome guests.

Officialdom knows when we may suspect them of trying enact laws that will affect our rights they always say it is what we want or what is necessary, or that there is no other way of dealing with a problem, they say everything but the truth. They sell their restrictions by saying their measures won’t really impact our rights in any way, and that their proposals are just common sense. But the fact is they always misrepresent their real motives, and their method is to gradually ramp up the the loss of a right(s) until it is gone. Sure the Constitution says we have a particular right, but in practice we wouldn’t. It always eventually comes down to not necessarily what is legal, but who has the power. Once the door has been opened it becomes almost an unstoppable process because gov’t loves power, it desires a monopoly on power.
A known tactic of TPTB is to exploit a tragedy psychologically or by playing on the masses emotions; then crowbar in a “solution” that far exceeds the issue. Another is to define an issue not as it is in reality, but how they want the people to see it; that way they can apply the “remedy” they really desire. Or just create false flags until people demand some kind of action is taken. I promise you, officialdom will try to leverage a crafted measure than will greatly exceed a proper response to the recent tragedy because ultimately it is not about crime, but who has power – the people, or TPTB.
You will see vilification of gun rights advocates, you will see polls (fake) taken by the MSM showing people want heavy restrictions, and you will see “civil rights” organizations mobilizing to reduce our rights rather than enhancing our rights. And no doubt, the established insiders will be heavily pressing pres. DT to sign off on what TPTB want.

I see that in the aftermath of Parkland’s terrible event, many in the shooting fraternity are starting to embrace concepts that will destroy the second amendment. We need to be careful of what we wish for. One theme we keep hearing is that there should be universal background checks on ALL firearm transfers. This IS bad. Universal background checks on private transfers—a brainchild of Michael Bloomberg, requires a background check for any transfer–even lending a gun–between private parties. Gun lending is most common among hunters, when hunter A has drawn a permit for an elk, for example, and hunter B may offer the loan of a rifle more suitable for such a large animal. This loan would now require a background check before the borrower can receive the weapon, and another background check before he/she could return it to the lender.

Also, consider this: an FFL holder cannot be compelled to aid a private party sale by performing such a check, and many will not. They see the seller of a used weapon as a competitor. Two weeks ago, when a friend offered me a deal on a matched set of upper and lower receivers for an AR-15, I needed an FFL holder to receive it and perform the background check as it was to be shipped from another state. One local gunshop, Butch’s guns, absolutely refused. He said they sell AR-15 receivers, if I’d like to buy one. He wasn’t going to assist a private sale though!

If no private sale could move forward without an FFL, and no FFL was willing to assist in such a sale, only new guns could be sold, and used guns in the hands of private parties would have zero value, even if you want to sell it to an FFL holder. Why would a gun dealer pay fair market value for a used gun if the owner can’t legally sell it to anyone else? What would be the fair market value of a gun you cannot sell without a third party’s cooperation? Alternatively, an FFL holder—if he was willing to handle the transaction–could charge whatever he deemed acceptable for the service—and after paying for the background check, it could be more expensive for the buyer to get the used private party’s gun than to buy a new one from the FFL holder.

“I like taking the guns early, like in this crazy man’s case that just took place in Florida … to go to court would have taken a long time,” Trump said at a meeting with lawmakers on school safety and gun violence.

“Take the guns first, go through due process second,” Trump said.

Yes. And anyone can say you are dangerous or mental, and point to a myriad of reasons like writing articles about gun control, yelling at family members during an argument, or supporting gun rights and free speech, or maybe you believe in God, that’s crazy enough to many. Now they come and take your guns. When do you get them back? Do you get them back? I seriously doubt that you do! When they take, they keep!

And this is how they will do it. One “crazy” at a time! Before long, only the criminals, and the dead, will have their guns.

And, when they come for the guns, how will they know what to look for and where to look for it? Because of registration. Remember the old saying, “The West wasn’t won with registered guns?” Neither will be the next Civil War which will, more than likely, be a race war.

“They” can’t find guns they don’t know you have or guns that aren’t where they expect to find them.

LOL, try neck sizing 30 cal. brass with RCBS dies if you want a real workout! Be careful not to break yer arm though. Oh and don’t forget to length trim them all after you stretched the hell out of them with those defective garbage dies. But I know yer smarter than that, you use LEE collet dies! 🙂

Hum … let’s see … who did Trump wine and dine with? Or, that’s right, other wealthies, the clintons, epstien island – where Trump is quoted as saying “he sure has a lot of beautiful young girls around him”

It was always amusing to me that people treated him as the “great white hope”. One man, in washington, who is going to fix it all. Thinking he would fix it all. We then get scraps, and think it is a feast. Washington fixing washington is as funny as it gets.

We also know that the PTBs don’t let anything happen that they don’t want to happen. I think Trump is controlled opposition to create more havoc in this country.

I guess a loaded gun and a spine will be required. To bad so many have one but not the other…. Hold your breath for the your magical mysterious fictional cavalry that ISNT coming…..We are fast moving to prove SELCO was spot on with his observations… too bad this has to come so late in my life.

The earth under your feet contains the bones of your fathers do not give it away for free food for you will eat your land and have nothing in the end. Teach the young the old ways and beliefs and scorn the teaching of the politicians Evil will come among you but be of brave heart. Even Red cloud in the end became a reservation coffee cooler. Organize the young men into warrior societies and be strong as your are in reality

In the former USSR and Iron Curtain countries, lack of sufficient compliance to the state was officially deemed as mental illness. Vast numbers of people such as Christians, dissidents, people who wanted to leave the country, anyone who questioned authority, were incarcerated in mental wards. Sometimes those being punished were drugged or underwent some type of “treatment” until they were driven mentally ill. Then the state would trot them out and show how sick they were to prove they really belonged in a mental facility. Secondly, usually a prison sentence even if long has a set time of release, but incarceration in a mental facility could easily be made forever.
When a heavy-handed gov’t defines mental illness it will always be defined in a way that benefits the state the most; gov’t sets the parameters, makes the laws, creates the policy, prescribes treatment; and decides under a very broad interpretation who may be mentally ill. It is just another tool for a controlling state.

Mental health was floated as an idea for gun control years ago. It rears its ugly head every so often. And there is some appeal to the idea….we don’t want some nut job armed and shooting because the dog told him to. But the problem with the mental health arguments from the government is what ISN’T said. What constitutes mental health? silence. Who determines that someone is mentally ill? silence. What if someone is mentally ill but gets better? silence. What recourse would a person have if accused of being mentally ill or would accusation be enough to seize their guns? silence. It also opens the door for the discussion of when to determine mental illness. If someone owns a couple guns and acquired them legally and all is good, but then starts having stress issues or they get some sort of chemical imbalance, do they present a risk? And if that is the case, shouldn’t we stop gun ownership to make sure? It is all that isn’t said that bothers me about the mental illness narrative.

The content on this site is provided as general information only. The ideas expressed on this site are solely the opinions of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the opinions of sponsors or firms affiliated with the author(s). The author may or may not have a financial interest in any company or advertiser referenced. Any action taken as a result of information, analysis, or advertisement on this site is ultimately the responsibility of the reader.

SHTFplan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.